How Indy and Marion met
by adventurer100
Summary: just a story of the first time they met, before raiders of the lost ark
1. Marion in Egypt

Marion and Abner left Chicago in June for Egypt. Marion would have complained avidly, but she was seventeen and the daughter of Abner Ravenwood, celebrated archeology professor; she was used to being ripped out of what she considered the normality of living at the University of Chicago and being plopped onto some archeological sight.

She and Abner were sitting under a tent eating dinner with the other archeologists and the assistant diggers. It was mid June and very hot. Marion sat on the end of a bench reading the last few pages of a book and gnawing on a piece of hard bread.

"Tomorrow my intern arrives," stated Abner plainly. There were a few mumbled questions about him and about what time he would be arriving.

When she finished her book, Marion rested her chin in the palms of her hands and looked around the table. They were all so old she thought to herself. Well, except some of the locals that had been hired to help. And they were all men. When the conversation began to bore her she stood up. She was wearing a loose white blouse and loose linen pants. Her dark hair fell in curls just past her shoulders.

She yawned, "I'm going to go study," she announced. Abner was adamant that she continue her studies despite the fact she was miles and miles away from her usual school. "There is no better school than the world," he often reminded her. The men looked up at her and nodded goodnight. She disappeared into her tent.

She opened her eyes to see the sun just peaking up behind the cliffs, but she could already hear voices and wheelbarrows moving about. She lay under the blanket in the tent for a few minutes before tying up a pair of sandals around her feet. Neglecting to brush her hair she drifted toward the food tent, a new book under her arm.

"Heya" she greeted one of her father's colleagues sipping on coffee and comparing a shard of pottery to some notes. They had been on the dig for a just a week and Marion could never remember anyone's name.

"Hi Marion dear" said the man looking up from his notes, peering at her form over his glasses. She glided behind him and glancing over his shoulder snorted a sarcastic "fascinating" and proceeded to rip off a piece of apple with her teeth. She didn't care much for her father's work.

The dig was taking place near a small village and Abner seemed to be occupied enough at the moment so Marion made her way down the hill and into the circle of huts. There she saw an Egyptian boy about her age. She recognized him because he'd been helping her father clean artifacts for the past week. "Sam!" She called, because she couldn't pronounce his full name and so he let her call him that.

"Good morning Marion," he waved to her and smiled. She walked toward where he sat with a group of men and boys.

"Watcha playin'?" She nodded her head in the direction of a stack of pebbles and cards.

"Ah, an excellent game about risk and strategy" he laughed.

"Makes a an think," said one of the older men playing.

Marion took a bite of her apple and sat down, examining the game. "What does this rock mean?" She asked picking up a painted pebble.

They then began explaining the game to Marion. After several rounds (Marion winning a good number of them to the amusement of the rest) Sam finally stood up and said, "I'm supposed to go back up to the dig after lunch"

So, after lunch, Marion and Sam headed back up the hill. The sun was extremely bright. "God damn sun!" Marion explained.

"Your gonna fry!" Sam teased her. They were almost to one of the tents. Marion stuck her leg out to trip Sam and he toppled over. She grinned to herself when she noticed she had timed it perfectly because had fallen into someone.

"Jesus!" said the voice.


	2. Your hat his ugly

Another old man, Marion predicted as she offered a hand to Sam, who was still lying on the ground rolling his eyes at her. The owner of the voice turned around.

While Sam was busy apologizing, Marion looked at the stranger through narrowed eyes, studying him, her hands on her hips. "Funny, your not so old are you."

The man gave her a crooked, confused smile. "Twenty four. Is that old?"

"Nah, I'm just tryin to figure out why you're here voluntarily." She paused and raised her eyebrows, "unless one uh them," she motioned to the old archeologists bent over peering through glasses at ancient artifacts, "kidnapped ya."

"Indiana Jones," the man said, extending a muscular hand.

"Marion Ravenwood," Marion wiped her dirty hands on her legs and returned the handshake.

"Figured," said Indiana, repositioning his fedora on his head. He looked around the campsite, "Abner told me he had a kid and there aren't a lot of other Americans under the age of forty." They both grinned.

Marion began to follow Sam toward the tent where shards of pottery were being catalogued. She looked back at her father's assistant, "What kinda kid where you expecting."

Indiana Jones shrugged, he was concentrating on the surroundings, examining the landscape.

"You said your father's assistants were all old," Sam remarked.

"Yeah," Marion replied, "they usually are. I think this one was one of Abner's old students or something. I don't know." She shrugged. "Do you think your brother would be up for a rematch later today." Marion said brightly, referring to the game they had played earlier.

"I don't know, you beat him twice, and he prides himself on being the champion." Sam laughed.

For the remainder of the afternoon Sam helped Abner and the other archeologists catalogue the all the ceramics that had just recently began to appear with the discovery of some room, Marion couldn't remember what Abner had called it…something about storing food. Marion lay on her stomach in the hot sand, moving her toes back and forth in the sand. She skimmed over a few paragraphs of the book she was reading, but her eyes were concentrated on Abner and this new student of his, Indiana, was it? How interesting, she thought, that Abner should bring a student along with him. She thought this Indiana's nose was a bit off center and that he had a strange scar on his chin. He looked rather unshaven and his hat was ugly. She looked back down at her book and made herself concentrate on the words.

….At dinner later that night:

"Marion, this is Indiana Jones," Abner said as they sat down to eat. Seems Indiana had already been introduced to the other archeologists on the dig.

Indiana Jones tipped his hat and smiled at Marion, who smiled politely at her father and said, "We've met."

The dinner conversation drifted toward some archeologists work in China and Indiana Jones, who was sitting across from Marion, next to Abner said, "You've been on quite a few digs I presume."

She shrugged, and looked up at him, "yeah, quite a few."

"Must be something," he said wistfully looking around the tent.

She downed a glass of wine and laughed coolly, "Nah, I don't really give a shit for broken shards of kitchen wear. All these archeological sites start to blend together, Mr. Jones."

He looked at Marion for moment, puzzled, and then smiled thoughtfully, "to each their own," and he held up his wine glass.

She held hers up and when the glass met they made a clanking noise. "So," Marion began, "what are they looking for anyway."

His face lit up as he began to talk, "It's a medallion," he set his glass down and with his index fingers and thumbs made a circle in the air to demonstrate the size. Marion rested her chin in her palm, listening. She liked having someone else besides her father explain to her the details of the expedition. "Of course we're not entirely sure what it looks like, but it supposed to fit on a staff, supposed to unveil the location of the Ark of the Covenant."

"Hmmm," said Marion thoughtfully, squinting her eyes in thought, "and so this medallion is here, at this dig."

"In a tomb, a burial site or something, that's what we're searching for!" Indiana Jones said excitedly.

Marion couldn't help but smile. He reminded her of her father when he talked about all these old things. She took another sip of wine and nodded toward Indiana, "Your hat's ugly."

He touched the brim of his hat, "Yeah?"

"Yeah," grinned Marion looking at him through big green eyes.

He couldn't help but smile back.

---------------

The next morning Marion went down to the village to find Sam. "Your not workin today are ya?"

"Nah," said Sam, "not today."

"Have you been there," Marion motioned toward a series of sandy buildings and holes and ladders that made up what was uncovered so far.

"You mean, into the uncovered remains of the city their looking at?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," said Marion.

"A bit," said Sam suspiciously. "Why are you so curious all of a sudden? You said you couldn't care less about what Mr. Ravenwood does."

Marion shrugged and skipped ahead. "They're lookin for a tomb you know?"

"I know."

"Well, have they found it," she turned around to face Sam, hands on her hips, head tilted, waiting for an answer.

"No," he said.

"Lets find it." Marion suggested plainly.

"Your crazy Marion." It was both a question and a statement. When Sam realized Marion was serious he added, "I'm not working today!"

"This won't be work Sam! An adventure, come on."

Reluctantly, Sam followed her and didn't object when she handed up a shovel. They proceeded down the steps into a chamber with painted walls, where men were brushing away at frescos and archeologists armed with tools that resembled tooth brushes were cleaning off old jars.


End file.
